Shouldn't Have Happened
by Serinidia
Summary: Tag to Withdrawal: They should have gotten out of that bank vault with no harm done. It should have been an easy Miranda Rights read and go but as always with anything Neal Caffrey is involved in, that wasn't the case. NEAL WHUMP! Not slash!


**_Author's Notes: Hi guys! This contains major spoilers for Withdrawal... I don't own WC...yet... just kidding, I never will... ~sobs~_**

**_I hope you enjoy and don't forget to review!_**

* * *

"They're coming back." Peter whispered to Neal urgently as the two men listened to the sound of the approaching footsteps. Neal gave Peter a look that clearly stated, then-lets-get-going and the older agent nodded.

Sprinting around the corner and down the hallway, agent and consultant skidded to a stop on either side of a door frame. Neal looked up at Peter, his hair slightly mussed from running and his heart racing with adrenaline. The younger man winced internally, knowing that the other men had guns and he wished that they weren't in this predicament right now. He saw Peter glance over at him, his face expressing his own adrenaline rush, his body taut.

Simultaneoulsy, the two men peered around the corner of the door frame and could see the men with Renee. There was a concerned look on Neal's face as he looked over at his parnter and whispered, "There's an emergancy exit out of here through the staircase. You create a distraction, I'll get her to safety."

The consultant saw Peter nodd in agreement as his friend replied with a "Good idea, but wrong."

Neal's brows drew together in a look of confusion before raising slightly as Peter expalined himself. "You create the distraction, I'll get her to safety."

Almost immeadiatly Neal shook his head in rejection to the thought. "But I know the way out." He argued. _I don't want to have to come find you after getting thier attention because you don't know how to get out of here Peter. _

Peter's eyes narrowed slightly before lighting up with grim amuesment. "And I have a gun." His voice was reasonable but Neal couldn't help but think Peter looked like a little kid as he held up his gun.

Neal turned away for a few seconds, rolling his eyes before deciding that if it came to violence then Peter would do a better job at protecting Renee. _Why does it always go back to guns_? _Is it because I hate the damn things?_

An idea flashed its way across his brain and Neal quickly moved over to the utility box on the other wall. The con artist could sense more than see Peter shoot a puzzled look in his direction but paid no heed to it. When Peter looked in his direction a second time Neal waved a hand in the agent's direction as he whispered, "Alright, I'll create a distraction you get her to safety." There was a pained quality to the younger man's eyes and Peter instictively knew what his partner hadn't mentioned. _Like I couldn't do for Kate_.

Peter quickly checked the scene behind him and turned around with a startled "What?" when Neal asked for his phone.

"I'll give the phone back, come on." There was an edge of desperation mixed with another emotion the Peter couldn't discern in the ex-con's voice. With a nod Peter tossed the device to Neal.

"Ok, take it." Another glance back alerted Peter to the fact that Renee had just been forced to sit down in one of the chairs.

Neal looked over at Peter after he finished dialling a set of number's into the agent's phone. "Do you think you could hear it ring?" His voice was still slightly breathless.

Peter nodded and ducked out of the room, running quietly alongside the wall. Neal turned around after a second and went back to the utility box, phone in hand as he switched off the lights.

Neal heard the sounds of the men coming his direction and quickly moved back to his former position to the side of the door frame, tossing the phone slightly out of the door way.

"There's someone in the doorway, don't move." The sound of a walkie-talkie clicking as the man's finger lifted off of the _talk_ button could be heard.

Peter kept his gun trained on the other men, a flash of worry shooting through him as he saw the robbers move towards his parnter's hiding spot. As soon as he decryed the men distracted, Peter quickly moved along the hallway some more, heading towards Renee's office.

Neal moved quickly, going through a door and to the side as he lifted his own phone to his ear. Whistling to get the men to pay attention to Peter's phone Neal continued by saying, "This might be a good time for you all to leave." His heart was beating painfully fast in his chest and his voice was still holding a breathless air to it. There was a "Damn it!" from the other side of the line and it took all of Neal's reserve to keep from moving. He flipped Peter's phone shut before mobing quickly. The sound of sirens was a welcome relief.

"Peter!" Neal called his friend's name as he ran up behind him.

"Looks like Diana talked some sense into them." There was a slight smirk on the agent's face.

Neal heard Peter say something else but didn't understand what the agent told him. "They're going out the back."

"Let the S.W.A.T go after them."

Neal shook his head, "I'm going after them!" Without waitng for a reply from Peter, Neal slid through the glass doors and sprinted after the robbers.

"Let them go they've got _guns." _Peter shouted after his friend, stressing the word _guns_ in an attempt to keep Neal from continuing. "Damn it, Neal!" The agent swore as he gently but forcefully pushed Renee out the door. "He never listens to me." Peter's heart was beating frantically, like a caged eagle trying to break free. He would never forgive himself if something happened to Neal. Why did the kid have to be damn hard headed? Couldn't he see that it was common sense not to go racing after a bunch of pissed off and armed bank robbers?

Neal shot through the hallway and out the doors on the other side of the building. The anxious blue eyes scanned the streets around him, but Neal coulndn't see hide nor hair of his quarry. Looking down in frustration, Neal quickly spotted the mask by his feet. _Well if I can't bring the actual guys to Peter I might as well bring him this_ he reasoned, knowing that he was going to be in for the lecture of his life when they got back to the office.

* * *

"Where's Walker, I want to talk to him." An irate Peter Burke demanded as he stepped off the elevator that led to his floor in the FBI building.

"He's already here." Jones answered promptly, voice sounding somewhat strained.

Neal tuned most of the conversation between Peter and Walker out but was unable to tune out Walker's snide comments.

"Caffrey." The tone was laced with venom and disgust. Walker pushed past the con-turned-informant before stopping abruptly and turning to face the younger man. "Oh, if I did do it, do you think they would turn me into a junior FBI agent too?"

Neal's body tensed alarmingly and for a minute Peter thought that Neal would actually hit the other man. The FBI agent looked over at Jones and saw the same look of rage that Peter knew adorned his own face at the comment. _You are soo going down you sonuva..._ No, he couldn't think like that in case it made him loose control of his temper.

"Wow, that is one arrogant bastard." Neal stated, tone terse as Walker sauntered off.

"That's one way of putting it." Peter agreed. Neal still looked pissed and that slightly concerned the older agent. Usually his friend was able to let the sneering remarks that other people shot his way just roll off like nothing had happened. "This is going to be a problem."

* * *

_A few hours later, at the bank vault_

* * *

Neal watched in curiousity as Peter opened the safe before glancing up at Renee.

And found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. Inhaling sharply, Neal raised his hands in a submissive gesture as Peter opened up the case. "One and a half miliion dollars in cash-" He broke off as he saw the gun aimed at his parner.

Renee told Peter to put the money in the bag as Neal looked over at his partner.

"Did you know she had a gun?"

"No I did not."

"Shut up!" Renee demanded and motioned with the gun for Peter to keep loading the bag.

"Not a bad plan, Walker leaves and you're cut. All you have to do is walk out of here with it once the dust settles." Peter addressed Renee, his tone somewhat worried.

"Pretty good plan." She agreed.

"Except we figured it out." Peter countered. "Do you really think you can outrun the FBI?"

Neal looked up from his task as Peter finished the last sentance, "For the record, its a marathon not a sprint." Neal added somewhat innocently.

Peter shot Neal an exhasperated glance, "You would know."

"Stop talking and put the money in the bag." Renee demanded.

"That was a pretty nice acting job you did in front of the cameras." Peter praised.

"A part of the best laid plans." Neal cut in.

"Shut up!"

Neal tuned out the next few lines before stopping and saying, "It not untrue."

"Did I tell you to stop?"

"You know what I'm sick of this!" Neal stated as he looked at Peter. "This bickering." He clarified.

"You're not the only one!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Wow!Maybe it is time for this partnership to end!"

"Ok, that's fine by me!" Peter agreed, having caught onto what Neal was doing. "I can finally start my novel."

A look of disbelief flashed across Neal's face. "Are you kidding me? You can barely write a parking ticket!"

"You know that's very-" Peter was cut off as Renee swung the gun around once more.

"HEY!" She shouted, obviously outraged.

"Hold on!" Peter responded to her before turning back to Neal. "Do you really want this to end?"

"Yeah!"

"Well I'm ready!"

"SHUT UP!" Spit flew from the woman's mouth as she turned the gun back onto Neal.

Neal just smirked and brought the two stacks of dollar bills that he was holding in both hands together causing ink to explode out of the pile. It splattered across Renee's face and into her eyes.

She staggered agains the wall, her finger tightening on the trigger, making the gun speak.

And the smirk was wiped off of Neal Caffrey's face.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: I hope you liked it! Just couldn't resist writing this as I watched Withdrawal today. Surprisingly enough it took me amost two hours to write! Pathetic, I know... but anyways please leave me a review! Oh, and I promise you guys that I haven't forgotten about the other stories! I'm working on them!**_

_**Neal: Yeah, but its like watching grass grow...**_

_**Me: Hush, or else that grass will turn to poison ivey.**_

_**Neal: ~holds up hands~ I don't need any of that!**_

_**Me: ~smirks~ That's what I thought!**_

_**Anyways, please leave me a review! I reeaaallllyyy like reviews, they encourage me to take the time to write chapters for any of my stories so if you want an update...you know the drill.**_


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